Bob Ford

STAFF COLUMNIST

Bob Ford is an award-winning sports columnist for the Inquirer and Daily News. He is a four-time Pennsylvania Sportswriter of the Year, as selected by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. His work has been cited numerous times by Associated Press Sports Editors judges, and he won an Eclipse Award for outstanding coverage of horse racing. Prior to becoming a columnist at the Inquirer, Ford was the 76ers beat writer for six seasons and then a general assignment feature writer with a specialty in Olympic sports. In 1995, he was designated a fellow of the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism. Ford has written sports in the Philadelphia area since 1981, when he served as the Phillies beat writer and later as a general sports columnist for the Delaware County Daily Times.

"You don't have to call me darling, darling. You never even called me by my name."

-- Steve Goodman

Nothing like a good, old country song to put that lingering divorce spat between the Dallas Cowboys and our good buddy Terrell Owens into perspective.

Tony Romo had nothing but kind words for his departed receiver, except that he, in the words of another quarterback, "kept his name out of his mouth" when asked about Owens during the Cowboys' mini-camp rituals.

Owens laughed it off and reminded people that Bill Parcells never referred to him as anything other than "the player." Yeah, it's all funny now.

Maybe Romo was showing some support for offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, who Owens allegedly speared in a Twitter post recently. The text of which was: "blame the OC & Romo!! but i'm happy 2 b where i am but i miss the other guys tht were & r true teammates."

Now, we say "allegedly," of course, because reputable news organizations such as Post Patterns are aware that anyone with a computer can create a Twitter account that looks as if it is operated by Terrell Owens, but one must check these things out before presenting them as fact.

Does the post sound like Owens? Sure. Are we convinced it was Owens? Not entirely, although "happy 2 b where i am" is strong circumstantial evidence.

Heading off to the OTA. More later and make sure you check out "You Talkin' To Me?" in Friday's Inquirer. It returns after a week-long suspension with a new lineup. Ringo's kid is playing drums now.